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Black Cat
"Black Cat" is the sixth single from Janet Jackson's 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814. Released on August 28, 1990, "Black Cat" was written by Jackson herself and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female, making Janet the only artist in history to have Grammy nominations spanning the Pop, Dance, Rock, Rap, and R&B categories. Background Unlike the pop and R&B-infused songs Jackson had been releasing before, this song was strictly a hard rock production solely written by Jackson and co-produced with one of the song's guitarists, Jellybean Johnson. The song became Jackson's fourth chart-topper on the Billboard Hot 100. Jackson has performed the song on all of her tours, including the Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour, janet. Tour, The Velvet Rope Tour, All for You Tour, Rock Witchu Tour, and Number Ones: Up Close and Personal Tour. Guitarists For the album version of "Black Cat", most of the guitar lines were played by Dave Barry, including the intro, main riff, and a memorable thematic solo. Barry consequently became Janet Jackson's longtime touring guitarist. John McClain, A&R executive for A&M Records, provided the slide-guitar part, while Jellybean Johnson played the funky guitar part that punctuates the album version of the song. Although credited on the album, Jesse Johnson provided a guitar solo that was not used for the album version, but is featured in each of the remixes. The video edit of "Black Cat" features Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme on rhythm guitar, while the 'Guitar Mix' features Vernon Reid of Living Colour. Releases The B-side on some of the releases features "The 1814 Megamix". Remixed by Alan Coulthard, it includes snippets of Jackson's previous hit singles "Alright", "Escapade", "Rhythm Nation", and "Miss You Much". The megamix does not appear on any other release from Jackson. Music video Directed by Wayne Isham, the music video for "Black Cat" was a concert video filmed during the Minneapolis stop on her Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour, April 5-6, 1990. The video appears on the video releases The Rhythm Nation Compilation and Design of a Decade 1986/1996. On April 27, 2007, the video was released on the iTunes Store. Live performances Jackson has performed the song on all of her tours, including the Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour, janet. Tour, The Velvet Rope Tour, All for You Tour, Rock Witchu Tour, and Number Ones: Up Close and Personal Tour. Track listings ;Canadian cassette single (75021 1477 4) # Video Mix/Long Solo - 4:48 # Funky 7" - 4:41 # 3 Snaps Up 7" - 4:24 # "The 1814 Megamix" (Full Version) - 7:24 # 3 Snaps Up Dub - 6:12 ;Australian 7" single (390548-7) # Edit Version – 4:30 # "Lonely" – 4:59 ;UK 7" single (AM 587) # Edit Version – 4:30 # "The 1814 Megamix" (Edit) – 4:36 ;UK 12" promo single (AMYDJ 587) # "The 1814 Megamix" (Full Version) – 7:24 # 3 Snaps Up 12" – 7:31 # Edit Version – 4:30 ;UK 12" single (AMY587) # 3 Snaps Up 12" – 7:31 # Album Version – 4:50 # "The 1814 Megamix" (Full Version) – 7:24 ;German CD single (390 572-2) # Edit Version – 4:30 # "The 1814 Megamix" (Full Version) – 7:24 # 3 Snaps Up 12" – 7:31 ;German CD maxi single (397 098-2) # Edit Version – 4:30 # Video Mix / Short Solo – 4:31 # Video Mix / Long Solo – 4:48 # Featuring Vernon Reid – 4:48 # 3 Snaps Up 7" – 4:24 # Funky 7" – 4:41 # 3 Snaps Up 12" – 7:31 # Funky 12" – 5:45 # 3 Snaps Up Dub – 6:12 # "The 1814 Megamix" (Full Version) – 7:24 ;US 12" single (SP-12348) ;Australian 12" single (390 548-1, 390 548-1) # Funky 12" – 5:45 # Funky 7" – 4:41 # Video Mix / Short Solo – 4:31 # 3 Snaps Up 12" – 7:31 # 3 Snaps Up 7" – 4:24 # 3 Snaps Up Dub – 6:12 ;US promo CD single (75021 7972 2) ;Japanese CD single (PCCY-10144) # Video Mix / Short Solo – 4:31 # Video Mix / Long Solo – 4:48 # Edit Version – 4:30 # Featuring Vernon Reid – 4:48 # 3 Snaps Up 7" – 4:24 # Funky 7" – 4:41 # 3 Snaps Up 12" – 7:31 # Funky 12" – 5:45 # 3 Snaps Up Dub – 6:12 ;Japanese 3" CD single (PCDY-10017) # Video Mix / Short Solo – 4:31 # Featuring Vernon Reid – 4:48 Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications